The Cloth

There was a piece of cloth.The cloth was perfect in design and quite brilliant in color, soft to the touch, yet strong and durable. One day a man picked up the cloth and wiped his hands on the cloth. Some of the color wiped away, and a tatter was left along the edge, but the cloth went back to its place. Throughout the years, the cloth went places being used to wipe away multiple layers of filth. Used and tattered the cloth’s journey ended up at a well, Jacob’s well. At this point the cloth had become a rag. A colorless, torn and sad rag. The only thing left on the rag were stains of a loveless life filled with darkness and pain. A man came to the well. He saw beyond the stains. He picked up the rag, embraced it with genuine love. The rag felt unworthy and too weary to trust the motives of yet another man. After all the rag had served its purpose for all who had need and used to the point of complete brokenness. How could someone, anyone, actually care. But this love was different, could it be real? How was the rag to trust, to have hope? Then listening to the man, the rag heard something different. The Man actually saw the rag. He listened and told of a very different life. Suddenly the rag turned back into the most brilliant cloth. The tatters were gone. The filth rinsed away with living water. The cloth was healed and loved, never to become a rag again.